Border Conquest

Border Politics for Fun and Profit

Lord Shivar Blackbelly

Description:

Shivar is small for a Skaven warlord. He is slight of frame and narrow in the muzzle. His fur is short and black, though on close inspection one may see that this color is provided by special dye meant to darken the pigment. He prefers to wear dark colors as well, as he seems to believe this increases the power of his presence among his fellow rats. He carries several weapons at all times, though they are almost never taken in hand. Shivar only fights when there’s no one else to fight for him.

Bio:

Lord Shivar Blackbelly is the forty-sixth (Forty-seventh? Forty-eight? Who’s counting really?) offspring of Lord Kratch, the clanmaster of Clan Rictus. Rather than following the skaven tradition of pitting Shivar against his litter-mates, Kratch tried something new with his forty-sixth sone. He bought druchii slaves to teach Shivar in the way of the more ‘civilized’ evil races, with the intention that Shivar would become a bridge between the skaven and the dark elf lords. Kratch sensed that there was coin to be made by selling his stormvermin or clanrats into the service of the Druchii for purposes of war, slavery, or simple sadism. Shivar was to be the instrument that connected them.

Unfortunately, Kratch tired of this plan well before its fruition. It only took a few years for Shivar to mature into a manipulative skeemer, but Kratch’s attention span was far less than that. After three years of little progress, Kratch had the dark elf tutors fed to his rat hounds, and sent Shivar away to manage some remote corner of the undermine. This Shivar did with some satisfaction for some years, until Kratch again changed his mind and replaced Shivar with one of his more dominant offspring. Shivar was given a relatively small warband and instructed to do something interesting with them. Out of his element, Shivar asked for guidance. Kratch replied, “Go find a war to fight.”

Shivar didn’t know much about war, but his time with the dark elves had taught him everything about manipulation. Using his father’s name as a shield, he approached several of the great warlords of the Undermine, promising them glory, power, and coin in return for their assistance conquering a kingdom on the surface. He purposely over promised what he could provide, relying on an old Druchii proverb to deal with the deficit: “The dead need no payment.”

His greatest success was the recruitment of the legendary Qweek Headtaker to join his band. Qweek—tired of killing his own—was looking for new challenges to face. The payment Qweek demanded was simple—as many skulls as he could take.

Shivar’s father was so impressed by his forty-sixth offspring’s initiative that he assigned his most trusted chieftain—Skowl Redeye—to watch over him. Together Shivar and Skowl now journey to the borderlands, for blood, conquest, and profit.